She's the team leader of the Marninwarntikura Fitzroy Women's Shelter, where woman can seek protection from what the Office of the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services described as "extreme levels of domestic violence."

"Well last night we had one client in and one on-call worker. Our client had just come out of a very abusive situation, and her partner was still quite intoxicated. Last night he was trying to actually jump over another fence out the back of our courtyard where it's enclosed," she says.

But standing up to domestic violence can mean putting yourself in the middle of a dangerous situation.

In 2007, community leaders June Oscar and Emily Carter led local women to successfully lobby for restrictions on the sale of full-strength alcohol in Fitzroy Crossing. Since then, the community has been changing the culture of domestic violence and Denice Cotterill is on the front line.

"He didn't get in last night, which is great. The police were called and they took him away which was great. And we kept our client safe and protected here," Ms Cotterill says.

A review following the first 12 months of alcohol restrictions showed a 20 per cent increase in the reporting of alcohol-related domestic violence along with a more than 30 per cent reduction in victims of alcohol-related violence presenting at the local hospital. Ms Cotterill says this is because women in Fitzroy Crossing know that they will be supported if they make a stand against domestic violence.

"We're trying our hardest to minimise the impact of DV, not only just on the clients, but the families and the larger scale in the Fitzroy Valley," she says.

Finding refuge from domestic violence can be particularly challenging in a town like Fitzroy Crossing which is hundreds of kilometres from the next small town in either direction. Over 2000 people live in the region and family, language and culture can drive intense social forces.

"There is nowhere for our clients to go. This is the only place that they can feel protected. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is, we're here, we welcome them in and we know they're going to feel safe and comfortable with us," says Ms Cotterill.

Denice Cotterill came to Fitzroy Crossing from WA's Midwest region 20 years ago for a holiday, and never left. Now she has children and grandchildren from some of the Fitzroy Valley's four traditional language groups.

It could reasonably be presumed that the potent mix of family and cultural connections, along with alcohol fuelled violence, would be more than one person could handle. But Ms Cotterill won't entertain for a second, the idea that she could be afraid of standing up to the aggressors.

"No I don't feel any pressures from any people. I'm here to do a job, and I do my job well. You've got to tackle it. And if I run away then I'm no good at trying to protect anybody else within this environment. If I feel fear, then I know that I can't do a good job for our clients, and they're going to see that. No, I'm a strong woman."

Denice Cotterill is the team leader of the Marninwarntikura Fitzroy Women's Shelter. She's not afraid to stand up to violence against women and families in Fitzroy Crossing. (8/5/14)
(Ben Collins - ABC Local)